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The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.

The Campaign Coming Unstitched?

Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.

The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.

Cancellieri's Surprising Return

At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.

Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."

Uncovering His Best Role

Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn